Wards affected: Middleton, Eaton Manor and Whitehouse ITEM 6 CABINET PROCUREMENT COMMITTEE 4 APRIL 2012 DESIGN, DEVELOPMENT AND CONSTRUCTION OF FOUR NEW PRIMARY SCHOOLS INVITATION TO TENDER Author: Helen Rowlay, Capital Development Manager. Tel: (01908) 258036 Executive Summary In order to meet the projected demand for pupil places arising from new housing development across Milton Keynes, four new primary schools are required by September 2014. A two year lead in period is required to enable the necessary consultation, tendering process, design development and construction to take place to achieve this date. The schemes will be procured as design and build contracts through Lot 1 of the Milton Keynes Council Construction Framework. This report is seeking approval to commence the tender process in accordance with the Council s Contract Procedure Rules and Financial Regulations. Tenders will be invited using the Council s E-Tendering system. 1 Recommendation 1.1 That tenders be invited for the procurement of the following new primary schools on a design and build basis through Lot 1 of the Milton Keynes Council Construction Framework. School Oakgrove Primary School Western Expansion Area Primary School 1 Eastern Expansion Area Primary School 2 Newton Leys Primary School Eventual Capacity 420 pupil places 630 pupil places 630 pupil places 420 pupil places 2. Issues 2.1 The Council s Constitution requires all procurement in excess of 100,000 to be approved by Cabinet Procurement Committee. This includes both the decision to formally award contracts and the decision to authorise officers to commence tender processes. 2.2 This report requests approval to obtain tenders for the provision of four new primary schools as outlined in paragraph 1.1. The funding required will be met by the respective project budgets within the Council's Capital Programme, CP ITEM 06 4 APRIL 2012 PAGE 1
approved by Cabinet on 28th February 2012. Formal Spend approval was agreed by the Capital Programme Review Panel on 6th February 2012. 2.3 Consultation and Policy 2.3.1 The procurement seeks to implement the Council's statutory duty in ensuring that there are sufficient school places (Education and Inspections Act 2006). 2.3.2 The current pupil projections indicate that additional school places are required to meet the demand from projected new housing development in the above areas by September 2014 (based on the current projected rate of house build). The size of school required for each development has been determined by the number of houses to be built and resultant pupil projections. Admissions to these schools will be managed in order to allow the schools to grow in size in line with demand. Typically places are only opened in Years R to 4 and the admission number will be set low and then raised up to maximum capacity over a number of years to ensure that there are sufficient places at the school to offer to local residents as the community grows. 2.3.3 The need for four primary schools to open in one year results from a number of factors. Firstly, the primary schools already agreed to be opened in the Western Expansion Area and Newton Leys in 2010 were delayed due to the downturn in the housing market. The housing programme for these areas now demonstrates that there will be a need for the delayed schools to be opened in 2014. Secondly the Brooklands development continues at a pace and Cabinet has already determined that the first primary school in the area, Brooklands Farm Primary, will expand with effect from September 2013. Despite this expansion the projected housing programme demonstrates the need for further places for to serve Brooklands residents from 2014. Finally the section 106 agreement for the Oakgrove development has recently been signed and a primary school site secured conditional upon proving need in the local area. The current programme for Oakgrove demonstrates that this is likely to take place in time to open the school in September 2014. 2.3.4 The Council will not commit to contract on the delivery of these new schools until it is certain that the designated sites are available and ready for development. 2.3.5 The schemes will be procured using a design and build contract through Lot 1 of the Milton Keynes Council Construction Framework. The Capital Development Team will work with advisers, Headteachers and governor representatives (where possible) to ensure designs are both fit for purpose and cost effective. 2.4 Specification 2.4.1 The draft specification for each school will be developed in line with Department for Education recommended space standards (which are currently subject to revision). They will be compliant with all relevant Building Regulations and construction standards. CP ITEM 06 4 APRIL 2012 PAGE 2
2.4.2 A 'Cost Effective Template for Design and Construction' will be used and a 'standardised' approach to design and construction will be utilised where possible. 2.4.3 The procurement seeks to deliver good quality, cost effective school buildings that will provide sufficient permanent school places to meet the demand created from new housing growth. 2.4.4 Recently agreed target costs per square metre will be applied. 2.4.5 In order to maximise efficiency (and thus cost savings) in the design and procurement process it is intended to procure a single 420 place school design and a single 630 place school design, which would each be constructed on two sites. 2.5 Evaluation Criteria & Panel 2.5.1 The Most Economically Advantageous Tender (MEAT) evaluation of tenders will be as follows: a) Price will be 60% of the evaluation b) Quality will be 40% of the evaluation 2.5.2 The quality evaluation criteria will also have appropriate sub criteria that reflect the importance of issues such as design quality, experience and programme/delivery. 2.5.3 Tenders submitted will be evaluated by a panel comprising of the appointed Project Manager, Cost Consultant, Lead Client Officer and Head of Capital and Infrastructure. Colleagues within Finance, Legal and Corporate Procurement will be engaged to support the tender process. 2.6 Contract Terms and Conditions 2.6.1 Tenders will be sought for a contract period commencing in January 2013 and completing in September 2014, excluding the defects liability period. The tender period including an allowance for evaluation, Cabinet Procurement Committee decision and call in period is expected to take place between June 2012 and November 2012. 2.6.2 The Terms and Conditions as agreed under the Milton Keynes Council Construction Framework will be used for each of these contracts. 2.6.3 The Council s Senior Client Officer for the procurement of each of these schemes is as follows. Oakgrove Primary School Sarah Layton Western Expansion Area Primary School 1 Joe McGovern Eastern Expansion Area Primary School 2 Kath Cook CP ITEM 06 4 APRIL 2012 PAGE 3
Newton Leys Primary School Glenn Oldfield The Programme will be overseen and led by Mark Dolling, Head of Capital and Infrastructure (Capital Projects Director). 2.6.4 The appointed Project Managers and Cost Consultants for these schemes will be Hewitt Freeborn Associates (HFA). Following Procurement Committee approval of these schemes, HFA will be appointed under the Construction Related Professional Services Framework, which was approved by Cabinet on 3rd November 2008. 3 Alternative Options 3.1 Not to agree to tender the schemes at this time. Due to the lead in times required to take forward the tender, design and construction of each building, the schools may not be available for September 2014. 3.2 Do nothing. Milton Keynes Council has a statutory responsibility to ensure that there are sufficient school places for all children and young people. If no action is taken, initially pupils would need to be transported to schools elsewhere across the borough disrupting families and creating a revenue cost to the council. However, given the pressure within the existing system it is probable that there will not be capacity to meet demand without this proposed new school provision. 4 Implications 4.1 Policy 4.1.1 The award of this contract contributes to the delivery of the following strategic aims: Living in MK Cleaner, greener, safer healthier MK 4.2 Resources and Risk 4.2.1 There is currently an allocation of 6,000,000 for both Newton Leys Primary School and Oakgrove Primary School in the proposed capital programme, from which an estimated 297,000 on each will be spent on design development activity during 2012-13. - Oakgrove Primary School will be funded through Section 106 contributions. - Newton Leys Primary School will be funded through 3,987,522 Section 106 contributions and 2,012,478 Basic Need. 4.2.2 There is currently an allocation of 7,617,000 for both the Western Expansion Primary School 1 and Eastern Expansion Primary School 2 in the proposed CP ITEM 06 4 APRIL 2012 PAGE 4
capital programme, from which an estimated 341,000 on each will be spent on design development during 2012-13. - Eastern Expansion Primary School 2 will be funded through 1,760,000 tariff contributions and 5,857,000 Basic Need. - Western Expansion Primary School 1 will be funded through 1,340,000 tariff contributions and 6,277,000 Basic Need. 4.2.3 A detailed project Risk Register is compiled at the outset of every major project and maintained throughout the lifecycle of the scheme, from pre-start through to post-completion. All stakeholders contribute to this register to ensure that it is comprehensive (End User, Client Officer, Project Manager and Constructor). The Risk Register contains all risk and mitigating actions/strategies. It is formally reviewed and updated by a Project or Programme Board on a monthly basis. Y Capital N Revenue Y Accommodation N IT N Medium Term Plan Y Asset Management 4.3 Carbon and Energy Management 4.4 Legal 4.3.1 Each project will support the Council s Carbon and Energy Management policy and will use sustainable sources/methods where possible. The appointed contractor will be required to be compliant with relevant environmental legislation. 4.4.1 The Council has a legal obligation under the Education and Inspections Act 2006 to provide sufficient, high quality school places. 4.4.2 This recommendation complies with Milton Keynes Council's Contract Procedure Rules, United Kingdom and European legislation. 4.5 Other Implications Y Equalities/Diversity N Sustainability Y Human Rights N E-Government N Stakeholders Y Crime and Disorder Y Carbon and Energy Policy Background Papers: Milton Keynes School Organisation Framework 2011-2012 CP ITEM 06 4 APRIL 2012 PAGE 5